THE DAUGHTER OF THE MAZE: SCORCH TRIALS
by imaginationnerdgirl
Summary: Based on the movies: After successfully escaping the Maze, the Gladers are flung into a new set of dangers, the outside world. Will the Gladers ever be able to escape WCKD for a second time? Can they navigate the dangers WCKD and the scorch will provide them? Can Lyra save her friends? Check out the 1st of the series, THE DAUGHTER OF THE MAZE: MAZE RUNNER.
1. The Warehouse, A Waystation

The Warehouse, A Waystation

_Lyra remembered meeting Thomas, Newt, Minho, Frypan, Winston, and Teresa before the maze. They were about 12, Ava had suggested to Lyra's parents that Lyra interacted with the other subjects._

"_Hi, I am Newt." A blonde brown eyed 12-year-old boys stuck out his hand._

"_I am Lyra." Lyra shook Newt's hand. _

_The group decided to play tag. Newt had tagged Lyra and she was running to catch him when everyone stopped and stared at her. Lyra looked down at her hands, her veins were glowing a shimmery blue. Ava had pulled her away from the group. _

"_You are special Lyra. You are going to save humanity. You are a cure. Don't you ever forget that." Ava told her. _

"_I won't." Lyra replied._

_Back when she was innocent, when she thought she was doing good in the world, when her parents were still alive. Was it really over? Were they really free? _

Lyra awoke, her head had been resting on Newt's shoulder during the helicopter ride from the maze. It was nighttime, people were yelling, and everyone was rushing out of the helicopter. Minho was yelling at Thomas, trying to wake Thomas up. There was a commotion as they exited the helicopter. Thomas had to run back to the helicopter to get something. Lyra could hear screeching from over the sand ridge.

"Cranks." A man yelled firing at dark shadows coming over the ridge.

A few men with guns were leading the group towards a complex with tons of lights shining in the darkness. Two large metal doors slammed together and locked right behind Thomas. They were inside a large warehouse structure. Lyra slipped her hand into Newts and squeezed. Newt squeezed back. He knew she was scared. There were a lot of people moving around. They had been shoved into a smaller room.

"Hey let us out!" Thomas yelled banging on the door.

The light came on and everyone turned around. They stared at the table in front of them. It was a long table filled tons of food and many pitchers of water. The group rushed the table.

"Dibs on the rice." Frypan stated with joy as the group ran to the table.

Everyone started piling their metal plates full of food. Lyra grabbed a roll, some yellowish spread, rice, and chicken. Newt bit into a chicken leg. Minho gulped a pitcher of water.

"This is way better than Frypan's slop." Winston joked as the group sat around the table.

Teresa threw food at him. Winston threw some food back, missing Teresa but hitting Lyra instead. Lyra stood there in shock with the yellowish sauce dripping from her hair. Newt threw some rice at Winston which hit Minho instead. The food fight continued until the group laughed themselves silly. The plates where empty, bones were all that was left of the meat by the time the group was finally full.

"I don't know who these guys are, but they can cook." Frypan said.

Most of the group was asleep. Only Thomas, Frypan, Newt, Lyra, Teresa, and Minho were awake. Frypan was leaning against a concrete beam, behind Thomas. Lyra was sitting across from Thomas. Newt was sitting on a bag of rice directly behind Lyra, Lyra was sitting between Newt's legs and was resting her head on his left knee. Teresa was sitting beside Lyra.

"Who are they really though? We don't know anything about them." Teresa asked

"I didn't recognize anyone." Lyra noted.

"We know they are no friend of WCKD." Newt added.

"That's good enough for me." Minho said sitting up on the table, "You guys think too much. We are finally free. Enjoy it"

"I mean are we finally free?" Lyra asked no one in particular.

The door they had been shoved through finally opened. A man with salt and pepper hair stood in front of them, armed men were on either side of him.

"You kids doing alright?" The man asked, "Sorry about all the fuss. We had ourselves a bit of a swarm."

"Who are you?" Thomas asked.

"I'm the reason you're all still alive." The man answered," It's my intention to keep you that way."

Lyra got a funny feeling in her stomach like she had seen this man before. Lyra, however, could not place him anywhere. Lyra also didn't like how he answered the questions.

"Come with me. We will get you kids squared away." The man said walking away.

The group followed him.

"You can call me Mr. Janson. I run this place." the man said as they walked through the warehouse-like space, "For us, it is a sanctuary, safe from the horrors of the outside world. You all should think of it as a waystation. Kind of a home between homes."

"Does that mean you are taking us home?" Thomas asked.

Lyra looked to Newt. She didn't have a home to return to. Newt was all she had left. Newt looked back at her. He must have known what she was thinking because he slipped his hand into hers and squeezed it tightly.

"I've got you. Don't worry about anything." He whispered into her ear.

"A home of sorts" Janson explained, "Sadly, there wouldn't be much left of wherever you came from. But we do have a place for you. A refuge, outside of the Scorch, where WCKD will never find you again. How does that sound?"

No one answered him, but they were all glad to be rid of WCKD. Lyra wasn't so sure they are completely done with WCKD. Lyra knew how valuable she was to them. Her aunt wouldn't have left her without anything.

"Why are you helping us?" Minho asked

Lyra could have given him the answer. They were the cure to the Flare.

"Let's just say the world out there is in a rather precarious situation. We're all hanging on by a very thin thread. The fact you kids can survive the Flare virus makes you the best chance of humanity's continued survival. Unfortunately, it also makes you a target as no doubt by now you've noticed."

They came to another door, this one had key card access and a glass window in it.

"Beyond this door lies the beginning of your new lives." Janson said as the door opened upwards, "First things first, let's do something about that smell."

The boys were led to one room, while Teresa and Lyra were led to another room. The room was lined with showers stalls. Lyra picked one, she turned the water on, it was like hot rain. It reminded her of the Glade back in the maze. The memories of all the friends she lost flooded her mind until she heard Teresa.

"How long have you and Newt been a thing?" Teresa asked from across the room.

"A year and a half I think" Lyra answered putting some soap on her body.

"Do you really like him?" Teresa asked.

_What is this, girl talk?_ Lyra thought to herself.

"Yeah. I broke a few of Alby's rules for him." Lyra responded.

Just saying Alby's name hurt a lot. Lyra could feel the tear swelling behind her eyes. She put her face into the water to hide the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Do you love him?" Teresa asked after a moment.

"Yes." Lyra replied as she turned off the water and got dressed.

She was in a white t-shirt, white skin-tight zip-up jacket, white skin-tight leggings, white slip on tennis shoes. The outfit reminded her of the WCKD outfit the subjects wore. Lyra checked every inch of the clothes for tags, but she couldn't find any.

"What are you doing?" Teresa asked.

"Just checking if these clothes had any labels." Lyra responded.

Teresa changed, then the two girls were led to a medical bay. Minho was running on a treadmill with a mask on his face and sensors all over his body. Newt was getting a shot. Thomas was getting his blood drawn. Teresa was led to an exam table and a female doctor closed the curtains. Another doctor approached Lyra with a clipboard in hand.

"Are you subject 0?" The doctor asked her.

Lyra was caught a little off guard, "Excuse me?"

"Are you subject 0?" The doctor asked again.

The funny feeling returned to Lyra. Only a very few WCKD personnel knew her subject number or that she was even a subject at all.

"No." Lyra replied.

"I need you to run the length of the room for me. Back and forth please." The doctor ordered.

Lyra looked to Newt. Newt had heard the conversation, the worry was clearly present on his face. Lyra shook her head and Newt's face softened. She had this, it was not difficult for her to fake normalcy, but she hadn't done it for almost 3 and a half years. Lyra took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She opened her eyes and started jogging from one end of the room to the other. She focused on nothing, thought about nothing. That was the only way to prevent her veins from glowing when she was exerting herself too much.

"Fine, thank you." The doctor said after Lyra had been running for a while.

Lyra stopped. A man walked up to her. Newt looked like he was ready to protect her, she glanced at him, which made him sit back down.

"Lyra you need to come with me." The man said.


	2. Others Like Them

Others Like Them

The man led Lyra to a small room with a table and two chairs on either side

Lyra sat down at the table, she looked to her left at the mirror. The man closed the door. Lyra was waiting, she ran her hand through her curly hair. There was a buzz from the door as it opened. Janson entered the room.

"Thank you, Lyra for seeing me." Janson said sitting down across from her, "I am sorry for the inconvenience."

"What is this about?" Lyra asked looking at him.

"I was hoping we would get a moment to chat in private, away from the others." Janson said pulling out a file and opening it, "I won't take up too much of your time. I only have a few questions."

Lyra stared at him.

"Are you Lyra Paige?" Janson asked

Lyra looked at him.

"Doesn't it say in your file that I am?" Lyra said pointing to her file.

"It does indeed state if you are Lyra, but for all, we know you could be lying. It states in the file that Lyra Paige has glowing veins when exposed to high exertion or emotion. You have not demonstrated that trait to us." Janson shot back.

"Maybe she found a way to control it. Maybe you need updated information." Lyra stared at Janson.

"Okay, Lyra. What do you remember about WCKD?" Janson asked.

"Why do you want to know that?" Lyra snapped back.

"I am trying to figure out whose side your on." Janson stated.

"I remember that I was a subject for WCKD's experiment. My aunt and my parents put me through hell. They tortured and killed my friends. They twisted my creations to suit their needs. They had me wander through the maze ever night. I had to fight for my life. My aunt is a monster for not only letting that happen to me but for watching and documenting it." Lyra stated clearly like her words were going to cut like a knife, "So you ask me when it comes down to it, whose side I am on. I am on my friend's side. I will always be on their side."

"Interesting." Janson noted, "If you are Ava's niece why did they send your directly into the maze?"

"Maybe ask them next time before you kill them all" Lyra snapped back.

"I will keep that in mind." Janson said standing up.

He left the room. Lyra was waiting for a few minutes until a man opened the door. Lyra stood up and exited the room.

"Lyra." She heard Thomas yell behind her.

Lyra turned around. Thomas caught up to her.

"Janson said something about others." Thomas whispered to Lyra.

"Makes sense. WCKD would have more that one maze." Lyra whispered back.

Thomas and Lyra were led to a large cafeteria room filled with many people. As they entered Minho walked up to them.

"Hey, we weren't the only maze." Minho stated, he then looked to Lyra, "Newt has been worried about you."

Thomas glanced at Lyra. Minho led him to where the rest of the group was sitting. Newt moved over so Lyra could sit next to him. As she sat down, Newt put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"I heard you were worried." She whispered to him, "I was fine. He asked some question. That was all."

"They pulled us out of the maze and brought us here." An older teenage boy spoke about his experience in the maze.

"What about the rest of them?" Newt asked, "The other people left behind in the maze, what happened to them?"

"I don't know. I guess WCKD still has them." The teenager answered.

"How long have you guys been here?" Lyra asked.

"Not long just a day or two. That kid over there has been here the longest, almost a week." The teen pointed to another teen who was sitting by himself.

The other teen wore a long hoodie with stripes on the sleeves. Lyra knew him from before the groups were assigned to the mazes. Aris or Aaron was his name, Lyra couldn't exactly remember.

"His maze was nothing but girls." The original teen explained

"Really?" Minho asked interestedly.

"Yeah, some guys have all the luck." the teen snapped back.

Janson entered the room, "Good evening gentlemen, ladies. You all know how this works. If you hear your name called, please raise in an orderly fashion, and make your way to the front of the room. Your new lives are about to begin."

Janson then read out a list of names, those people rose up happiness on their faces. When he was done he explained that he wished he could take more. Thomas turned his head.

"What the hell." Thomas said getting up from the table and walked toward a wall with windows.

"Teresa" He yelled as he walked toward another entrance.

He was stopped by armed guards. The guards and Thomas talked for a minute. Thomas turned around and walked back to the group at the table.


	3. Something Suspect

Something Suspect

The group was led down a series of hallways to a door with a small window in it. A guard opened up the door. It was filled with bunk beds and a sink. The group piled into the room.

"I got the top bunk." Frypan said reaching to climb up.

Minho beat him to the top, "Too slow."

Winston laid down on a bed, "I could get used to this."

"Yeah, it's not bad." Newt said looking around.

The guard locked the door.

_That's weird _Lyra thought.

"What do you think those guys want with Teresa?" Thomas asked looking to Lyra and Newt.

"If there is the only thing I know about that girl it is that she can take care of herself." Newt replied climbing to the top bunk.

"Don't worry about it." Lyra said climbing up after Newt.

Thomas laid down on the bunk below them. Lyra cuddled next to the Newt. Newt wrapped his arm around her.

"You are safe tonight Lyra. I will protect you, always." Newt said

"I will always come running back to you." Lyra said as she laid her hand on Newt's chest.

Lyra turned over on her side and closed her eyes. Newt turned and laid his arm on her waist pulling her closer to him.

_Memories flashed in her mind. Ben and Alby getting stung, Ben's banishment, killing George, not saving Alby, Zart and Alby getting taken by the things she created, Jeff sacrificing himself, Gally getting stung, Chuck getting killed. _

"_You are the cure...WCKD is good...Daughter of the maze...Humanity's last hope...Find the cure…" the voices of her aunt, mother, and father blended together and repeated the same statements. _

_Then she was alone around by darkness, she could hear the shrieking of the Grievers and the metal clicking of the metal legs. Fear and terror overcame Lyra. She let out a scream._  
Lyra awoke scream and thrashing her arms around, Newt was holding her tight against him, calming Lyra down.

"It's okay, it was just a dream." Newt whispered.

Minho, Thomas, Winston, and Frypan stood up next to Newt's bunk. Tears streamed down Lyra's cheeks.

"They are dead, they are all dead. Because of me. If I wasn't the way I am, they would still be alive." Lyra sobbed.

"You don't know that." Newt whispered back.

Lyra climbed down and ran to the sink. The rest of the group went back to bed.

"Newt please don't wait up." Lyra said to Newt, who laid down on the bed.

Thomas walked up to her.

"You okay?" Thomas asked

"Yeah. I will be. It was just a nightmare." Lyra said splashing water on her face.

All of a sudden there was a rattling sound from under Thomas' bed.

"Psst" A voice spoke under the bed.

Lyra and Thomas looked under the bed. The boy with the striped sleeved hoodie appeared in the air duct.

"Come on. Follow me." The teen whispered.

Lyra and Thomas followed the teenager through the air duct until they reached a dead end with a grate looking down.

"Watch!" The teen said looking through the grate.

The three looked though the grate. It didn't take long before the doctor, who was looking after Teresa, came walking through with body bags being wheeled on a stretcher, a body scanner screen was over the stretcher. The bodies were wheeled into a locked room.

"What the hell was that?" Thomas asked after everyone had walked into the room.

"They bring in new ones every night like clockwork" The teen stated.

"What do they do to them?" Lyra asked cautiously, she wasn't sure she wanted the answer to it.

"I don't know." The teen answered, "This is as far as I've ever gotten. The vents don't even go into that section. But once they go through that door, they don't come back out."

Lyra got a very funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. The doors looked familiar, like the door in the back offices and labs of the WCKD complex that Lyra grew up in.

"I don't think anybody ever really leaves this place." The teen said again.

Again this statement reminded her of WCKD, they often used tactics like that to ensure that people would not panic.

"We have to go before somebody notices we're gone." The teen turned and crawled away.

"Wait what is your name." Thomas called after the teen.

"Aris" The teen responded as he crawled away.

Lyra looked to Thomas and they soon followed suit.

Lyra climbed back up to Newt and snuggled next to him.

The day went by pretty fast. More experiments and testing, lunch, free time in the room. During the day Lyra and Thomas told Frypan, Winston, Minho, and Newt about they had seen last night.

"I have a way to get in" Lyra whispered to Thomas.

Finally, it was dinner and soon Janson was calling out names again.

"I wanna know what's through that door." Thomas whispered to Lyra.

"We've been over this," Newt interrupted, "You said they were covered up, so we don't know what you saw. It could've been anything under there."

"I know exactly what I saw, they were bodies." Lyra stated looking to Newt.

"Aris said they bring in a new batch every night." Thomas added.

"Who the hell is Aris?" Minho asked

Thomas pointed to Aris, who was sitting alone with his striped sleeved hoodie on.

"Well, I'm sold." Minho said turning back.

"Until we know anything for certain, we should just keep our head down and try not to draw any attention to ourselves." Newt said looking around at the guards.

Thomas quickly got up and walked toward the guards.

"What is he doing?" Newt said watching.

"I think he is drawing attention to himself." Frypan stated.

Thomas tried to get through the door, but the guards were not letting him. The guards started pushing Thomas, that was when the group ran over and held Thomas back.

"What's happening here?" Janson yelled breaking up the fighting.

"Lyra! Thomas! I thought we could trust each other" Janson said staring at Lyra and Thomas, "You know we're all on the same team here."

"Are we?" Lyra asked snarkily, staring back at Janson.

Lyra could feel Newt staring at her in disbelief.

"Get them to their bunks." Janson ordered the guards.

Soon the group was forced into their room.

"What the hell was that about?" Minho asked Thomas

As soon as Lyra heard the door lock, she went for her quiver and pulled out her keycard.

"You didn't really think they were going to let you through?" Newt asked

"Nah, of course, I didn't." Thomas said pulling out a keycard, "I'm going to find out what on the other side of that door."

"Newt, they are hiding something." Lyra said looking at Newt.

"These people are not who they say they are." Thomas added.

"No, Thomas, you don't know that. The only thing that we do know is that they helped rescue us from WCKD. They gave us clothes, food, and a proper bed. Some of us haven't had that in a long time. Some of us a lot longer than others." Newt explained.

Just then the grate was kicked in by Aris. Lyra hugged Newt.

"I will always come running back to you." She said as she kissed him on the cheek.

Lyra got down and started crawling through the air vents. Thomas was behind her. Thomas was talking to the group. All that Lyra could hear was mumbling. Aris, Lyra, and Thomas reached the grate. Thomas opened the grate and lowered himself down. He caught Lyra as she lowered herself down.

"Careful with those hands dude. Newt could go ballistic, so watch it" Lyra joked as Thomas helped her down.

Aris was the last one down. Thomas threw the grate back up in its slot. They walked to the door. Thomas slid the card through the slot, the screen lit up green, and the door opened. From what Lyra could see it looked like a decontamination room. There was a window to their left. It had large containers full of a blue liquid. Inside, floating, in the containers was the organism part of the Grievers, before they are hooked up to the metallic side of the Grievers.

_This is WCKD. We haven't left them. We are not free._ Lyra thought as she stared at the containers. The door in front of them opened. They entered a large room, teens were fastened to a harness and hung a few inches off the ground. A machine was connected to them and draining them of a blue shimmery liquid.

"Teresa" Thomas finally spoke.

Lyra turned, there was a girl who looked like Teresa hanging from the harness. Thomas exposed the girl's face and it was not Teresa.

"That's Rachel. She was in the maze with me. She was taken the first day." Aris said walking up to them.

They heard the exterior door open. They had to hide. Aris ran to the other side of the room, while Thomas and Lyra ducked behind some barrels. Janson walked into the room. Ava appeared on a screen in front of him.

"Good evening, Doctor Paige." Janson spoke, "Lovely to see you again, though I was not expecting to see you so soon."

"Change of plans, Janson" Ava cut him off, "I'll be arriving a little sooner than expected. First thing tomorrow"

"You'll be pleased with the progress we made. As you can see, early results have been extremely promising." Janson said pointed to some lab results on her screen, "Whatever you have been doing to them in there, it's working."

"Not well enough." Ava said frustrated, "I just got board approval. I want all remaining subjects sedated and prepped for harvest by the time I arrive."  
"I am working as fast as I can." Janson complained

"Try something faster, until I can guarantee their security, her security, this is the best plan." Ava said,

"Ma'am security is my job." Janson argued.

"Have you found the Right Arm?" Ava asked.

"Not yet." Janson admitted, "But we tracked them as far as the mountains."

"So they are still out there. They have already hit two of our installations. And I cannot… I cannot afford another loss. Not now, when I am so close to a cure. Lyra holds a part of the key. " Ava yelled, "If you are not up to the task, I will someone who is."

"That won't be necessary. Might I suggest we start with the most recent arrivals." Janson turned to walk away.

"Janson, I don't want them to feel any pain. Especially her, she is the only family I got left." Ava said before the screen went black.


	4. Escaping WCKD

Escaping WCKD

Thomas, Lyra, and Aris quickly made their way through the air duct to the rest of the room. Thomas threw open the grate and climbed out, followed by Lyra and Aris.

"Thomas, Lyra" Minho shouted.

"We gotta go, We have to go right now!" Lyra said quickly.

Thomas and Lyra started running around blocking the door.

"What are you talking about. What do you mean 'We have to go?" Minho, Newt, Frypan, and Winston asked.

"Lyra, they're coming. We gotta go." Thomas said figuring out how to escape.

"She's still alive...I can't believe she is still alive...I saw her die...How can that be?" Lyra stood there frozen for a second as it hit her that her family was not completely dead.

"What happened in there?" Frypan asked Lyra.

"Lyra, calm down and talk to us." Newt held Lyra's shoulders and stared into her eyes.

"She is still alive." Lyra yelled, tears in her eyes.

"Who is she?" Frypan yelled back.

"Ava." Lyra said staring at Thomas.

"Ava?" Newt asked.

"My aunt Ava. WCKD! We are in a WCKD facility. It has always been WCKD. We were never free from them." Lyra cried hugging Newt.

"I will protect you." Newt tightened his grip around her, "Thomas what did you see?"

Thomas quickly explained what they had seen. The group then decided to escape through the air duct. They exited the ductwork in a corridor.

"Come on, come on." Thomas urged as the group climbed out of the duct.

Lyra turned to an exit, "Okay, let's go"

"You guys go ahead. There is something I gotta do" Aris said staying by the duct.

"What are you talking about?" Thomas asked running back to Aris.

"Trust me it is important. You wanna get outta here, right? Just go" Aris said getting back into the ductwork

"I'll go with him." Winston said following Aris.

"Are you sure we can trust this kid?" Minho asked as Lyra, Thomas, Frypan, Newt, and Jack walked down the corridor.

"You don't want to know where we'd be without him." Thomas responded.

They turned a corner and ran right into the doctor that was treating Teresa.

"What are you kids doing out?" she asked.

Just then an alarm blared and orange lights came on. The doctor looked around then back at the group. The group looked at each other. Thomas grabbed the doctor's arm.

"Take us to Teresa. Now!" He order.

The doctor led them down a series of hallways. Lyra ran ahead of the group aiming her arrow in front of them. After they all turned a corner an armed man ran towards them.

"Freeze!" the man yelled at them.

The group with their hostage ran back the way they came. Minho and Lyra stopped and turned back to the armed man. Lyra reached down, clicked a button on her quiver, pulled out an arrow, aimed her bow. Minho ran towards the armed man, just as Lyra let go of the bowstring sending the arrow into the armed man's leg while Minho landed a firm knee to the man stomach. Lyra clicked a button her quiver again which caused the man to convulse like he was getting electrocuted. The man laid on the ground, unconscious. The group and hostage ran up to Minho and Lyra.

" Shit Minho." Newt said glancing over at Minho.

Newt then gave a look to Lyra. Thomas bent over and picked up the gun from the man. It wasn't long before they reached the medical room. Thomas pushed the doctor through the opened door. The medical techs were scrambling.

"Where is she? Where is she!" Thomas ordered.

A med tech looked to a curtain. Thomas handed Minho the gun. Thomas pulled the curtains back as Lyra pulled back her bow ready to shoot at the techs.

"Get down" Minho ordered.

The doctors obeyed.

"Give me your hands" Newt ordered.

The doctors obeyed. Newt tied bed sheets around their wrists.

"You are never going to get away with this." A doctor said.

"I'm Lyra Paige. I can do anything." Lyra said staring at the doctors.

The doctors' eyes widen with recognition. Frypan, Newt, and Minho looked to each other. Thomas helped Teresa out of the bed and unhooked her from the medical devices.

"Guys, they are coming where do we go?" Frypan yelled from the door.

"Frypan move." Newt yelled tipping over a table and pressing it against the entrance.

Janson and his group tried to open the door, but the table Newt tipped over jammed it.

"Get back! Get back!" Minho yelled pushing Newt, Frypan, and Lyra behind him as he pointed the gun, "Where do we go?"

"Everyone stand back!" Thomas yelled as he hit a glass observation window with a metal chair.

Newt helped the second time. The window finally broke. The group crawled through the window. Thomas opened the door and an armed man stood in front of them. Thomas pulled the trigger on the gun, stunning the man. The group ran around him, towards the keycard door, they entered the facility through. Thomas swiped the keycard, the screen blinked red. Thomas tried again, the same result.

"Thomas, Lyra!" Janson yelled from down the corridor.

Janson started to slowly walk towards the group. Thomas gave the keycard to Minho and raised the gun, Lyra raised her bow.

"Open this door, Janson!" Thomas ordered.

Thomas and Lyra walked closer to Janson and his group, their weapons still pointed.

"You really don't want me to." Janson replied in a calm voice.

"Open the damn door!" Lyra yelled.

"Listen to me! I'm trying to save your life." Janson shouted back, "The maze in one thing, but you kids wouldn't last one day in the scorch. If the elements don't kill you. The Cranks will."

"I have survived worse. WCKD made me walk through hell and I am still here. I am Lyra Paige, Subject 0, and I will survive anything the outside world throws at me. Because it would be less painful than what I have already endured." Lyra shouted back, she could feel her veins starting to glow blue.

"You both have to believe me. I only want what is best for you." Janson stated.

"Yeah, let me guess. WCKD is good?" Thomas asked.

"You are not getting through that door." Janson said lowering his hands.

Just then the door opened behind Thomas and Lyra. Newt, Teresa, Frypan, Jack, and Minho exited. Lyra turned and ran towards them. Thomas shot at Janson and his armed men, before turning and running towards the lowering door. Thomas slid to the group just before the door closed. Aris damaged the keycard slot trapping Janson and his men on the other side. They quickly grabbed the gear off of the unconscious men in the warehouse, before they opened the metal doors that led to the outside world.


	5. First Glimpse at The Scorch

First Glimpse at The Scorch

There was a sandstorm blowing ferociously around them as they exited the WCKD compound. They could hardly see where they were going. It was colder than Lyra thought it would be. They climbed a sand dune just as WCKD personnel were sent out to find them. They ducked down at the crest of the dune, watching the armed men look for them. They then ran the other way. They stumbled into a large building of sorts. Minho pulled out a flashlight, turned it on, and shown it around the place. To Lyra the place looked like a mall, though she hadn't been in one since she was really little.

"We gotta go!" Thomas said walking further into space.

"No. Thomas, stop!" Teresa said not moving, "Tell me what is going on."

"It's WCKD. They lied to us. We never escaped." Thomas said, "Me, Lyra, and Aris, we found bodies. Too many to count."

"What do you mean? Dead bodies?" Minho asked.

"No, but they weren't fully alive either." Lyra replied.

"They had then strung up. With tubes coming out of them. They were being drained." Thomas added.

"There is something inside of us that WCKD wants." Lyra stated, "Something in our blood."

"So we have to get as far away from them as possible." Thomas stated.

"Okay. So what's the plan?" Newt asked holding Lyra's hand tightly.

Lyra and Thomas looked at each other.

"You do have a plan, right?" Newt said with concern in his voice.

"I don't know" Thomas finally admitted.

"We followed you out here, Thomas...and now you're saying that you have no idea where we're going or what we're doing." Newt's voice rose with frustration.

"Wait. Janson said something about people hiding in the mountains. Some kind of resistance or army." Aris spoke up

"The Right Arm." Thomas nodded, "If they're really against WCKD, maybe they can help us.

"People. In the mountains. Mountain people. That's your plan?" Newt restated the plan a look of unease on his face.

"It is the only chance we have." Lyra stated looking at Newt.

"Hey, guys." Winston said a little ways from the group kneeling, "Check this out. Minho give me some light."

The group walked over to Winston. Minho showed the flashlight over the area in front of Winston. Shoe prints were visible in the sand.

"Someone's been down here." Winston aid pointing to the prints.

The group wandered around the area. Shops lined both sides with a spacious walkway in between the shops.

Minho peered into one of the closed shops.

"Open it up." Minho order.

The group did. The spaced looked lived in. Water canisters were scattered around. Frypan turned on a lamp. Everyone found a flashlight.

"It looks like people lived here." Lyra noted.

"Where are they now?" Newt asked.

The group just searched the room. Thomas found a jacket.

"Let's pack some of this stuff up." Thomas said putting on the jacket, "Anything you think you might need. We'll split up, see what else we can find. Meet back here."

"Wait, Thomas." Newt said throwing Thomas a flashlight.

Minho and Thomas left and walked away from the group. Aris, Frypan, Jack, and Teresa walked to the next shop. Lyra was about to follow when Newt pulled her arm towards him. She spun around and felt her lips press against his. She draped her arms around his neck and he pulled her closer to him. Frypan coughed and shined a light on them. Lyra and Newt separated.

"Naw. I don't care about that." Frypan said with a smile, "I was just trying to find you both. We should stick close together."

Lyra and Newt followed Frypan to the next store. Where they found backpacks and outdoor clothes. Lyra pulled down a white lightweight backpack and shoved her father's notebook and her keycard into it. She looked around the room for other items to put into it. She looked through the clothes. Lyra knew that the white she was wearing would be spotted a mile away as WCKD's property. Lyra found some clothes and started changing. She could hear Newt and Frypan on the other side of a plastic room divider.

"Um," Frypan spoke, "Why is subject 0 so important?"

Lyra looked towards them, "Subject 0 started to the whole thing, created hope."

She put on black leggings, blue short, a black print tank top, a green lightweight jacket, a brown vest, and light brown boots.

"What does that mean?" Frypan asked again.

"It matters because subject 0 is the niece of Ava, the director of WCKD. The person who is authorizing the horrible things that have been done to us and the others." Lyra explained walked towards them.

She noticed that Newt was giving Frypan a look. Frypan must have been trying to seek a peek at her. Lyra smiled at Newt.

"And you are subject 0, Ava's niece correct?" Frypan asked trying to wrap his head around Lyra's explanation.

"Correct. My parents help build WCKD, trying to find a cure, but they were killed right before I entered the maze. My aunt runs WCKD. I survived the flare when I was 5." Lyra explained.

They sat waiting for Teresa to be done changing. Newt slipped his hand into Lyra. Frypan looked at the two of them.

"I always thought there was something between the two of you." Frypan said smiling.

"We had to be careful, Alby didn't want anyone to get jealous that the only girl in the Glade liked a certain Glader." Lyra said.

"Anyone or Gally?" Frypan said giving Lyra a look.

Tears swelled in Lyra's eyes.

"I'm sorry. I know losing your friends is hard." Frypan apologized.

"It's not our fault. She doesn't like that she could have helped them but was forced not to." Newt answered as Lyra hid her face in his shoulder.

Teresa emerged in a change of clothes.

Lyra wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up, "Come on, let's keep looking."

The lights came on above them. Frypan, Newt, Jack, Teresa, and Lyra walked out of the store into the walkway. Lyra quickly ran into a sporting good store, grabbed all the arrows that were being sold and stuffed them into her quiver as she ran back to Newt.

"What is going on?" Winston asked.

"I don't know." Frypan answered.

There were gurgling noises and screams coming from where Minho and Thomas went.

"Hey!" They heard Thomas yell.

The group could see the dark shapes of Minho and Thomas running down the walkway.

"Run!" Minho yelled.

Lyra looked confused at Newt. When she turned back Thomas and Minho were being chased by other dark shapes. They turned and ran down the corridor and up some metal stairs. The group kept running. A Crank ran at them. Aria hit in with a metal bat. As they started up another set of metal stairs a crank jump and grabbed Jack pulling him off the stairs. Frypan tried to grab him, but a Crank jumped on Jack causing Jack to fall to the floor below. Frypan, Newt, Lyra, Aris, and Minho took one path and Thomas and Teresa took another. They met on the floor above them. A Crank came out of nowhere and pulled Newt to the ground.

"Newt!" Lyra yelled racing to the one person she really loved.

She pulled back on the bow and sent the arrow soaring into the Crank's head. Thomas kicked the Crank off of Newt and Lyra helped him up.

"You good?" Thomas yelled.

"Yeah, thanks Tommy." Newt said grabbing Lyra hand.

Minho led them down a concrete passageway. They reached a door, but it was locked. They pushed on it and kicked it open. Winston was shooting at the crowd of Cranks. Finally, the door flew open and they ran through. Winston was grabbed by some Cranks and pulled back toward the horde of Cranks. The group held onto Winston and it became a tug of war for his life. The group ended up winning and Winston was pulled free. They hid under large chunks of broken concrete until the sunlight rose.


	6. The Blaring Heat

The Blaring Heat

Lyra awoke to the rustling of a crow. Newt's arms were around her.

"Hey get outta here." Thomas yelled shooing the crow away.

Minho jolted awake as Thomas stood up.

"Are they gone?" Newt asked sitting up.

"Yeah, I think we're safe for now." Thomas replied looking around.

"We should get moving. Let's pack it up." Thomas said getting stuff back into their backpacks.

Aris slowly stood up. Winston tried to stand, but he groaned in pain. Frypan helped Winston stand. They climbed over the rubble. When they reached a clearing they saw large tall structures completely gutted.

"What the hell happened to this place?" Frypan asked looking around.

"I don't know" Newt replied, "It doesn't look like anyone's been here in a long time."

"I hope the whole world's not like this." Aris commented.

"I think it is, most of it at least." Lyra answered.

A whooshing sound could be heard if someone listened close enough.

"Hang on. Stop." Thomas said standing still, listening to something.

Lyra and Thomas must have been hearing the same thing.

"Do you hear that?" Thomas asked the group.

The whirring of an aircraft approaching got louder. Lyra's eyes widen with terror. Her aunt was supposed to travel to the WCKD facility and be there in the morning. Thomas must have seen the look on her face because that moment he said, "Get down. Everybody hide."

The group scurried around and hit under the concrete chunks and cars. A large hovercraft flew overhead. Lyra recognized it, she used to have to clean it if she disobeyed an order, it was her aunt's ship.

"They are never gonna stop looking for us, are they?" Minho asked.

"Nope." Lyra answered grabbing Newt's hand.

The group slowly emerged from their hiding spot and started walking. Lyra noticed that Winston was having a harder time. They stopped at the crest of a sand dune. The mountains looked so far away.

"That's where we're going!" Thomas yelled over the wind, pointing at the mountains in the distance.

"That's a long way off" Newt commented.

Just as they were about to keep walking Winston collapsed in the sand.

"Winston! Hey, Winston!" Thomas yelled trying to wake Winston up.

Winston started gasping and gurgling.

"He is hurt pretty bad. What do we do?" Teresa looked around scared.

"Winston. Can you hear me?" Newt asked leaning towards Winston, "It's okay. You are going to be okay."

The group rigged a stretcher to carry Winston. They all took turns carrying Winston, even when a sandstorm blew around them. They took shelter under some rubble. Thomas stood by a crest of a dune. Teresa walked up to him.

"How is it looking" Newt shouted from the shelter.

"It's a little further." Thomas answered.

Lyra walked up to Thomas and Teresa as Next said something to Frypan and Aris. Teresa was showing Thomas something on her neck.

"Really a little further? Newt wouldn't like that answer" Lyra smirked at Thomas, then realized that there was a marking on Teresa's neck, "What is that?"

"They did something to me." Teresa said pulling back her hair, "First it felt like I was waking up from a dream or something. Then they all started coming back."

"Your memories?" Thomas asked.

Lyra stared at the mountains, "What do you remember?"

"I remember the first time they brought you in. I was taller than you then and faster." Teresa said, "I remember when Lyra first showed her uniqueness for the first time. We were playing tag and she ran too hard and started glowing blue."

Lyra continued to stare at the mountains.

"I remember why we were there." Teresa said, "We thought we could fix all this. I think we should go back."

Lyra turned around and looked at Teresa, "Even if we thought we could fix this. We can't. Going back is not an option. WCKD is not good, it is not helpful. I thought the same thing you did. I was in the organization further than you were. Now I know differently. I am not innocent anymore. I know full well what WCKD has done. If you knew the whole truth you would shiver."

"Go back after everything they've done to us." Thomas said with shock.

"It's not that simple-"Teresa started

"Yeah, I think it is that simple." Thomas cut her off.


	7. Goodbye To A Friend

Goodbye To a Friend

A gunshot broke the hostility.

"Hey" Frypan yelled, "Guys get down here."

Lyra, Teresa, and Thomas ran towards the rubble.

"Winston give me that. What are you doing?" Frypan yelled, yanking something away from Winston.

"What's going on?" Newt asked turning around as Lyra ran up.

"What happened?" Lyra asked.

"I don't know. He just woke up and grabbed the gun and then he tried to…" Frypan explained

"Give it back, please." Winston said crawling on the ground.

Lyra noticed he started to look like a crank.

"Winston, you okay?" Thomas knelt down by Winston.

Winston started to throw up a liquid black tar-like substance. Lyra started crying she wrapped her arms around Newt.

"I'm not gonna make it." Winston said breathlessly, "Please, please. Don't let me turn into one of those things."

Winston reached for the gun. Newt grabbed the gun out of Frypan's hand and gave it Winston.

Lyra started sobbing as she got closer to Winston.

"Get outta here." Winston said.

"Goodbye, Winston." Newt said.

"Goodbye, my friend." Lyra whispered through tears.

She knelt down and kissed his forehead. As she neared him, the veins in her skin started glowing. One by the one they said goodbye to Winston and left. The heat blared down on them as they walked along the crest of the sand dunes. Tears streamed down Lyra face. Newt put his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek. A gunshot echoed. They all stopped that turned back to the rubble. Lyra started crying. Newt put his hand in hers and started leading her to keep walking. They reached a flat land and decided to camp by a dismantled ship. Aris added more wood to the fire. Lyra cuddled up to Newt. Her eyes were still raw from crying.

"I thought we were supposed to be immune." Minho said staring into the fire.

"Not all of us, I guess." Teresa said looking at Lyra.

"If Winston can get infected, we should assume so can the rest of us." Newt said.

"I never thought I'd say it… but I miss the Glade." Frypan sighed.

Lyra started to tear up thinking about the Glade, but there were no more tears left for her to shed.

Thomas got up and walked away from the group. Newt and Lyra followed.

"You haven't slept since we left the maze." Lyra said sitting down next to Thomas.

"I don't think you have either." Thomas said looking at her.

"Nightmares?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah, I see their faces, Zart, Alby, Chuck, Winston." Thomas said staring at the nothingness.

"I get it. I see them too." Lyra commented.

They sat in silence for a minute.

"Frypan was just letting off steam." Newt said.

"He is right though. I'm the reason we are stuck out here." Thomas said.

"You are the reason we are free." Lyra added.

"The others may have their doubts that it fine. They would follow you anywhere." Newt said

"They would follow you too." Thomas stated.

"Naw, it is different with me and you know it. We all have our roles to play." Newt said.

"I don't know where we are going." Thomas confessed, "We're lost."

"We have been lost before." Lyra commented.

Thomas gave a look to Lyra, "Not like this."

"There is a place out there for us. I don't know where it is. But I do know that a lot of our friends have died for us to get this far. So we can't give up. You can't give up. I won't let you." Newt said patting Thomas on the back, "Come on man, get some sleep."

Newt got up and went back to the firepit.

"Come on. We will have to fight the nightmares together." Lyra said getting to her feet.

The next morning was just the same sweltering heat as they trekked toward the mountains.


	8. A Ray of Hope

A Ray of Hope

That night Thomas awoke Lyra and the rest of the group in a hurry. Lyra could see lights in the distance. Behind them, lightning struck around them. They started running towards the lights. The lightning continuing to strike around them. Newt, Frypan, Aris, Teresa, and Lyra made it to safety when lightning struck right next to Minho. Which sent Minho and Thomas flying. Lyra ran out and pulled Minho to the safety of a warehouse. Thomas got up and ran behind her. She laid Minho down, She couldn't see his chest moving nor could she tell if he was breathing.

"Who has a light?" Thomas asked.

A flashlight light appeared.

"Minho" Lyra yelled at the unconscious Minho, "Wake up. Minho. I need you to wake up."

Lyra started to tear up and started to pound on Minho's chest, "You are not going to die on me."

She pounded on his chest again. Minho started to groan. Lyra cheered a sigh of relief as she hugged Minho. Minho had become like her family as Ben had been.

"What happened." Minho said dazedly.

"You got struck by lightning." Thomas said.

The group slowly helped Minho to his feet.

"Hey, what is that smell?" Lyra asked stepping closer into the darkness.

She turned the flashlight on. A Crank lunged at her as Newt pulled her back towards him. His arms wrapped around her. The Crank didn't get far as it could have because it was chained up. As they shined their light around more Cranks lunged at them. The group huddled closer until a door opened on the far end of the space.

"I see you have met our guard dogs." A female voice said from the doorway.

She walked closer to them just out of reach of the Cranks. She had short black hair, a torn tunic, green hooded jacket, white leggings, and brown boots. Lyra thought she looked a little bit like George.

"You guys look like shit." The girl said, "Come on. Follow me. Unless you want to stay here with them."

She turned and started walking away. The group followed her through a warehouse-like structure, filled with other people.

"Come on. Jorge wants to meet you." The girl said.

"Who is Jorge?" Thomas asked.

"You'll see." The girl responded.

As they walked through the different areas others started to stare at them. Lyra grabbed Newt's hand and squeezed it tight.

"No one's come out of the Scorch in a long time." the girl stated, "You've just got him curious. And me too."

Newt, Frypan, Minho, and Lyra looked around as the forming crowd behind them. Newt wrapped his arms around Lyra.

"Anyone getting a bad feeling about this place?" Newt whispered.

"Let's hear him out, see what he has to say." Thomas said to the group.

The girl led them up to Jorge's office. The girl said her name was Brenda. Jorge was an older man and he was listening to a radio.

"They are here." Brenda said entering the room.

Jorge shushed her. He messed with the radio until there was nothing but static.

Jorge turned around, "Do you ever get the feeling the whole world's against you?"

Thunder rumbled outside. The group looked at each other.

"Three questions. Where did you come from? Where are you going? How can I profit?" Jorge asked looking at the group.

The group stood in silence looking at each other.

"Don't all answer at once." Jorge said looking at Thomas and Lyra.

"We're headed for the mountains." Thomas said.

" We're looking for the Right Arm." Lyra said.

The people behind them laughed.

"You're looking for ghosts, you mean." Jorge said sipping some water.

"Question number two. Where did you come from?" Jorge asked.

Lyra and Thomas exchanged glances. Lyra shook her head. They would be sent back if they told these people. WCKD would pay tons of money for the property to be returned.

"That's our business." Minho said.

Jorge made a face. Some of the men forced the group down to their knees.

"Hey, get your hands off of me!" Lyra yelled.

Brenda grabbed a scanner and started to scan the back of their necks. She checked the scanner. The group stood back up.

"You were right." Brenda said handing the scanner to Jorge.

"Right about what? What is she talking about?" Thomas asked.

"I'm sorry, hermano. Looks like you're tagged. You came from WCKD." Jorge said looking at Thomas and Lyra, "Which means…"

"We are very, very valuable." Lyra finished staring at Jorge.


	9. In Trouble Again

In Trouble Again

The men with Jorge started to crowd around them. Newt put his arm around Lyra's waist pulling her closer to him. The men grabbed the group and took them to a pit. They tied the group's feet and hoisted them into the air. Lyra, Thomas, Newt, Frypan, Aris, and Teresa hung upside down.

"Good plan, Thomas" Minho said sarcastically, "Just hear what the man has to say. Really working out for us."

"Oh. Shut up. Minho" Thomas snapped back, "Maybe I can reach the rope."

Thomas bent to try and reach his legs but was unsuccessful. Jorge walked in.

"Enjoying the view?" Jorge asked jokily.

"What the hell do you want?" Lyra snapped back.

"That is the question." Jorge said, "My men want to sell you back to WCKD. Life has taught them to think small. I'm not like that. Something tells me that you're not either."

"Is the blood rushing to my head or is this shank not making any sense?" Minho asked.

"Tell me what you know about the Right Arm." Jorge ordered.

"I thought you said they were ghosts." Newt snapped back.

"I happen to believe in ghosts. Especially when I hear them chattering on the airwaves. " Jorge said walking to the rope holding them up.

"You tell me what you know, and maybe we can make a deal." Jorge said.

"We don't know much." Thomas confessed.

Jorge pulled a lever, which causes them to drop a few inches.

"Okay, okay, all right. They're hiding in the mountains." Lyra yelled, "They attacked WCKD. They got a bunch of kids out."

"That's it. That's all we know." Thomas cut in.

"Yo! Jorge, what is going on." One of Jorge's men walked in.

"Me and my new friends were just getting acquainted." Jorge replied, "We're done now."

"Hey wait. You're not gonna help us?" Thomas asked confused.

"Don't worry, hermano." Jorge replied, "We'll get you back to where you belong."

Lyra got a funny feeling in her stomach when Jorge spoke. Jorge walked away.

"We have to get out of here. Now!" Lyra said reaching for her feet.

They figured out that Teresa could be swung to the lever. Thomas had to push Newt, who pushed Aris, who pushed Minho, who grabbed Teresa and threw her at the lever. Teresa was so close a few times. Minho pushed her again and she grabbed the lever. She undid her feet and helped everyone get to the ground. All of a sudden there was the whirling of a helicopter and Janson's voice boomed around them. Lyra's veins started glow their shimmery blue. They went for the exit but were stopped by one of Jorge's men who had a shotgun.

"We're not trying to cause any trouble okay." Lyra said calmly stepping in the line of fire, her hands up, "We just got to get out of here."

"Is that so?" The man asked, then he spoke into a walkie talkie, "Janson, I got'em for ya. I'm bringing'em down. Don't shoot us."

The man then turned to the group, "Come on. Let's go."

Lyra lunged that the man, the gun fired, but missed everyone. The man regained control and pointed the gun at Lyra. Newt tried to pull her back, but she stood unmoved.

"You little jerks!" The man shouted.

There was a loud gunshot. Lyra instinctively grabbed her stomach. She fell into Newt's arms and pulled her hand away, but there was no blood. It took her a minute to realize that the man had been shot. Brenda stood behind the man, her gun still smoking.

"Come on," Brenda order running out of the room.

The group followed her. They ran back into Jorge's office. A song began to play over the loudspeakers.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go." Jorge yelled pushing open a window and pulling down a zip line, "I'll lead to the Right Arm, but you're gonna owe me."

He grabbed a harness and jumped, following the zip line.

Brenda pulled down another one. Minho, Aris, Teresa all zip lined their way to Jorge. Brenda left the room, running.

Thomas followed her. Lyra started to follow, but Newt grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him. She felt her lips press against his.

"Be careful." Newt said staring into her eyes, "I can't lose you."

"I will always come running back to you. I love you." Lyra said before she kissed him one more time.

"I love you too." Newt said as Lyra ran off after Thomas.


	10. Split From Friends

Split From Friends

Lyra ran into the room behind Thomas. Brenda was looking for something.

"Brenda, come on. What are you doing?" Thomas yelled.

Brenda found what she was looking for and they ran out of the room. They were cut off by WCKD soldiers. The soldiers fired at them but missed. Lyra and Thomas followed Brenda through the warehouse. Lyra and Thomas at just reached the other side of the warehouse when the music stopped. All of a sudden, explosions happened around them and the warehouse started to cave in.

Newt had seen the explosion, but he waited for a moment to see if Lyra had made it to the zip line. Frypan led him to the rest of the group. Newt's heart sank a little.

Lyra, Thomas, and Brenda jumped down an elevator shaft and moved out of the way just as the rubble came down on them. They coughed.

"You okay." Brenda asked the both of them.

"I think so." Lyra said standing up.

"Yeah, great." Thomas replied.

Brenda showed a flashlight around. There were no exits around.

"How are we going to get back to others." Thomas said panicked.

Lyra started to glow blue, "I...I...I need to get back to Newt...This can't be it for us… We have to get outta here."

"Relax. I'm gonna get us out of here." Brenda said putting on her backpack.

Lyra picked hers up and checked its contents, her dad's notebook, her keycard, bow, and arrows. Everything was there. Brenda gave Thomas a flashlight.

"Why are you helping us?" Thomas asked Brenda.

"Trust me, it's not my idea." Brenda said still collecting some belongings and shoving them into the backpack, "Jorge seems to think you guys are our ticket to the safe haven."

"The what?" Lyra asked

"You know, paradise." Brenda responded, "Safe from the sun, free of infection. Supposedly the Right Arm had been taking kids there for years. Immunes, anyway."

Brenda got up.

"You know where that is?" Lyra asked.

"No, but Jorge knows a guy. Marcus. He used to smuggle kids up into the mountains." Brenda answered moving some debris, "If Jorge made it out, that's where he'll be taking your friends."

"If he made it out?" Thomas asked with a hint of shock in his voice.

"You know what? You ask a lot of questions." Brenda snapped back.

"Yeah. Tell me about it." Lyra added giving a look to Thomas smiling.

"Can you just come over here and help me with this?" Brenda ordered.

Lyra and Thomas helped Brenda remove a metal storm covering and the three of them jumped down into the sewer.

The sewer smelled like rotten eggs, mixed with vomit and urine. Lyra wrinkled her nose at the smell. Brenda led the way through the darkness. It looked abandoned. There was always screeching in the distant. They came to a fork in the road. Brenda didn't know where to go next. Thomas and Lyra picked a way to go, but when they turned around Brenda was not there.

"Brenda!" Lyra shouted.

"I'm over here." Brenda answered, "Look at this."

Lyra and Thomas walked to Brenda. She was standing in front of a wall with black gooey branch-like lines on it.

"What is this stuff?" Lyra asked looking closer at it.

They followed the gooey substance. It strung together and created an almost cave-like structure in the sewer system.

"What the hell is this?" Thomas asked looking around.

"I don't know." Brenda responded.

There were bodies mixed with the strands of the gooey substance. The substance seemed to originate from the bodies. Squealing came from some of the tunnels. A rat emerged, it looked sick and disoriented. It had the flare. The rat was grabbed by the body that was attached to the wall and eaten. More heavily infected Cranks, which stop resembling humans, started to horde onto the rat's body. Brenda backed in a Crank, which still looked a little human. Thomas kicked it away from Brenda and Lyra. The Crank roared sending the rest of the horde after Thomas, Lyra, and Brenda. The three turned and ran down the corridors. The horde followed them. They kept running until they made it to the sunlight. They climbed up the rubble of a fallen skyscraper. Cranks still behind them. They kept climbing until they reached a staircase. They ascended the stairs. Every so often they would be able to get rid of one or two Cranks. Brenda grabbed a railing but it broke and she flew backward through a door and landed on a pane of glass. Thomas and Lyra reached the doorway. Thomas and Lyra slowly made their way close to her. As Brenda stood up the glass started to crack. Thomas reached his hand out to her. They were inches apart. Then a Crank came through the door and grabbed Brenda. Brenda kept fighting it off trying to grab Thomas' hand. Lyra grabbed Thomas as Thomas slid down grabbing Brenda as the Crank bit her ankle. Thomas broke the glass with a pipe holding on to Brenda as the Crank fell to the ground far below. Lyra pulled Thomas back to safety. They made their way back down to the ground. They rested for a moment before they reached a road. Brenda checked her injury. Lyra bandaged Brenda's wound.

"The Right Arm can help." Lyra said, "We need to hurry and find them."

They reached what was left of civilization. People were living in what they could build, searching the rubble for food, water, and essentials of life. The three walked through the streets until they reached a large house with music blaring from it.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Thomas asked as they approached the mansion.

"Are you here for the party?" An older woman asked.

"Uh...No. We're looking Marcus. This is his place, isn't it?" Brenda asked the woman.

"This is my place." A man in a dark suit answered.

"Are you Marcus?" Lyra asked walking closer to the man.

"Marcus doesn't live here anymore." The man confessed.

"Do you know where we can find him?" Thomas asked.

"Sure, sure. He's over in Zone B," The man pointed over his shoulder.

"Okay. What is Zone B?" Thomas asked.

"It is where they burn the bodies." The woman answered, walking toward the man.

"Has anyone else been by here looking for him?" Lyra asked hopefully, "A group of kids around our age. They had a brunette girl with them. One of the boys walks with a limp."

"You know what, I think they might be inside." The man said thinking.

The man then produced a jar filled with a green liquid, "Here. Drink this."

The man opened it and handed the jar to Lyra.

"What is this?" Lyra asked eyeing the liquid.

"Price of admission." The man replied.

"Drink it!" The man yelled.

Lyra grabbed the bottle and took a large drink from it. Brenda grabbed it next and sipped from it. Thomas grabbed it and started to slowly drink from it. The women tipped the jar up so Thomas would drink more. Thomas handed the jar back to the man, who was now laughing at them.

The man pushed them into the mansion, "You three, enjoy the party."

The place was sparsely lit. With tons of people dressed kind of funny inside.

"Maybe we should split up. See if we can find the others." Brenda said walking away from Thomas and Lyra.

Thomas and Lyra made their way through the crowd. They watched people shoot chained Cranks for fun. It made Lyra sick. She turned but Thomas was nowhere to be found. She thought she caught glimpses of Newt in the crowd. She followed them until she spotted Newt in the middle of the crowd. Something was different, Newt's eyes were bright blue, like hers, his veins were visibly black, and a black tar-like substance dripped from his mouth. Newt looked like a Crank. Lyra screamed in terror. Newt came running towards her, she turned and ran away. She pushed past crowds of people. Lyra didn't know where she was running to, she just had to get away from Newt, tears streaming down her face. She ran down a hallway and tried the doors, they were all locked. She reached the last door down the hall. She turned the knob, she could hear Newt right behind her as she opened the door and shut it as soon as she as in. Lyra leaned against the door, crying her eyes out. The shook, causing Lyra to scream each time it did. Lyra put her hands to her ears. Voices echoed inside her head.

"_You are the cure...WCKD is good...Daughter of the maze...Humanity's last hope...Find the cure…"_

Then everything went black.


	11. Reunited

Reunited

Lyra awoke with Minho looking over her. Lyra sat up Thomas was on a mattress next to her.

"You look horrible." Minho said examining her.

"Where is Newt?" Lyra gasped.

Minho looked to Teresa, they didn't say anything. Stress and worry overcame Lyra. She could feel her veins pulsing blue. She was close to tears. Minho looked back over to her.

"Lyra, you need to calm down. Newt is here. He is okay." Minho said grabbing her arm.

Minho helped Lyra to her feet.

"I suggest you talk. You son of a bitch." She heard Jorge scream.

She turned and saw Jorge punch the man from the entrance. She got up and went over to Newt.

"Hey. You okay?" Newt said, moving over.

"Yeah. I'll be fine." Lyra said sitting down next to him.

Newt put his arm around her and kissed her on the forehead.

"I'm sorry you are going to have to leave my house." The man said.

Newt turned to Thomas, "Looks like you have been having fun."

They turned their attention back to Jorge and the man.

"Listen. I don't enjoy hurting you." Jorge said as he punched the man in the face.

"Where is the Right Arm, Marcus?" Jorge asked calmly.

"Wait that is Marcus?" Thomas asked pointing to the man.

"The kid catches on quick." Marcus said, "Are you the brains of the operation?"

"I know you know where they're hiding." Jorge said grabbing Marcus' hair.

Marcus groaned.

"So you tell me, and I'll make you a deal." Jorge said letting go.

Jorge and Marcus talked for a minute.

"You're eyes are still a little red." Newt whispered to Lyra, "What happened?"

"I was crying because of a vision the drink Marcus made us drink gave me." Lyra whispered back.

"What was the vision?" Newt whispered concern behind his accent.

"I saw you as a Crank." Lyra whispered looking at Marcus' bloody face.

Newt kissed her on the forehead again, "I promised to protect you."

"And I promised that I will always come running back to you." Lyra said kissing Newt on the cheek.

Newt turned back to the conversation Jorge and Marcus were having, "What's he talking about?"

"I'm talking about supply and demand." Marcus explained, "WCKD wants all the immunes they can get. I help provide that for them. So I lure the kids in...They get drunk, they have a good time. And then, later, WCKD comes in...they separate the wheat from the chaff."

Lyra stood up, "You give WCKD more subjects! Your the reason the problem continues. What happens those children will turn your stomach into knots."

Marcus looked to her, "How do you know."

Lyra stared at Marcus, "I just know."

Marcus looked a little scared as Lyra sat back down next to Newt.

"I changed my mind, hermano." Jorge said punching Marcus, "I do enjoy hurting you."

Jorge finally got Marcus to tell them how to get to the Right Arm. Jorge also managed to get Marcus' car. Aris and Brenda filed into the way back. Minho, Teresa, and Thomas sat in the second row. Jorge drove the car, Lyra between Jorge and Newt. Newt's arm was around Lyra.

They drove to the mountains. They reached a small tunnel that was blocked by cars and other debris.

"Well, I guess we're on foot." Jorge said as they exited the car.


	12. Under Attack

Under Attack

They made it past a few cars and were walking towards a tunnel. All of a sudden there were gunshots.

"Get down" Jorge yelled.

"Take cover." Newt yelled grabbing Lyra and covering her.

Lyra pressed up against a car in between Newt and Minho.

"Hey, is everyone okay out there?" Thomas yelled

"Yeah!" Everyone yelled back.

Lyra pulled out her bow and arrow. She clicked a button on the quiver and pulled back the bow. She peered over the hood of the car to see if she could see who was shooting. But there was nothing.

"Anyone know where those bloody shots came from?" Newt yelled.

"I'm looking." Lyra whispered to him.

A bullet bounced off the hood inches from Lyra's face. Newt pulled her back down, concern clear on his face.

"Get ready to sprint back to the car, and hold your ears." Jorge yelled.

Lyra was about to poke her head again when she heard the click of a gun behind her.

Two girls with scarves pointed guns in their faces. They corralled them into a group. That was when the darker skinned girl pulled down her scarf.

"Aris?" The darker skinned girl hugged Aris.

"Oh my God. Harriet?" Aris said hugging the darker skinned girl.

The other girl pulled her scarf down too. Lyra couldn't believe it, the other was Sonya. Lyra knew her before the mazes. Lyra only knew Harriet from knowing Sonya.

"Aris, you know these people?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah, we were in the maze together." Arai answered.

"I guess could have guessed that." Lyra snapped back.

Sonya looked at Lyra like she recognized Lyra.

"Lyra?" Sonya asked

"Yeah. You remember me?" Lyra asked hugging Sonya.

"I somehow didn't forget my glowing blue veined best friend" Sonya squealed.

Everyone looked at the two girls weirdly.

"Before the maze." Lyra explained.

Harriet whistled the all clear. People came out of their hiding places. They started moving the group to a van and taking them to the encampment.

They traveled a little way before they reached the encampment. They got out and started walking towards some tents.

"You guys are lucky you found us when you did." Sonya said, "We're moving out at first light. Where's Vince?"

"Who is Vince?" Thomas asked.

"He's the one who decides if you get to stay." Harriet said.

"I thought the Right Arm was supposed to be an army." Minho said.

"Yeah, we were." A man answered, "This is all that is left of us. A lot of good people died getting us this far."

The man pointed the new group, "Who are they?"

"They are Immunes. Caught'em coming up the mountain." Harriet answered.

Lyra looked over her shoulder to Brenda. Brenda didn't look good.

The guy was named Vince. He told off Harriet for trusting one person in the group. Then Brenda fell to the ground. Jorge ran to Brenda. Vince found the bite mark on her ankle.

Vince pulled out his gun, "Crank. We got a Crank!"

Thomas and Lyra ran in front of the gun.

"You don't need to do that. We can help her." Lyra yelled her hands in the air.

"She is not dangerous yet. This just happened." Thomas added.

"You shouldn't have brought her here." Vince yelled at them.

"We had nowhere else to go. We need to help her." Lyra stated.

"Just listen. Please. I told her that you could help." Thomas stated, "There's got to be something you can do."

"I can put her out of her misery." Vince said pointing a gun at Brenda.

"Vince that's enough! Let him go." A brunette female walked towards them.

"She is infected, Doc." Vince said to the female, "There is nothing we can do for her."

"No, but they can." The female looked toward Lyra and Thomas.

"Oh my God! Dr. Mary Cooper!" Lyra ran to the woman and hugged her.

"Lyra it is good to see you again. I am glad you are alive. I feared the worst when I heard you would be put in the maze." Mary said, "Hello, Thomas.

"You know me?" Thomas asked.

"Interesting. It makes sense they'd put you in the maze." Mary said, then she turned to Lyra, "I thought they would wipe your memory."

"I got stung too many times. The memory serum was reversed by the virus. Threw up enough, but my memory is intact." Lyra replied.

" I was worried they killed Thomas after what he did." Mary said kneeling down by Brenda.

"What did Thomas do?" Lyra asked turning to Thomas.

Lyra never did ask herself why Thomas was placed in the maze.

"The first time we spoke, you said you couldn't take it anymore. Watching your friends die... The last time we spoke. You gave me the coordinates of every WCKD compound, trial, and lab." Mary stated.

"He was our source." Vince said looking to Thomas.

"You kept your promise." Lyra said hugging Thomas, "Thank you."

"We couldn't have pulled all this off without him." Mary stated, "Take her to a tent. Get these guys some warm clothes."


	13. Healing and the Start of War

Healing and the Start of War

A little while later, Mary was drawing blood from Thomas. She had asked Lyra to run back and forth. The Right Arm, Harriet, Sonya, Aris, Newt, Frypan, and Minho watched her. Lyra let her emotions go, she thought about her parents, the friend she lost to the maze, and the friends she still had. Then Newt flashed into her mind, how her heart skips a beat when he looks at her, how her heart froze in fear when the Griever stung him, how she fell in love with him before she entered the maze. She stopped, her veins glowing brightly, and walked to Mary who withdrew her blood. She mixed Thomas' enzyme with her blood and injected that into Brenda who fell asleep.

"How long will that give her." Thomas asked.

"It is different for everyone, but testing proved that Lyra's blood can help increase the timeframe." Mary answered, "She'll be fine."

Lyra exited the tent with Jorge and Mary.

Vince walked up to her, "Are you patient zero?"

Lyra looked at Vince, "Yes. I am the first subject of WCKD."

Vince walked away and Lyra found Newt.

"Did you ever like Thomas?" Newt asked.

"He was like a brother." Lyra said holding his head in her hands, "I love you to death, Newt. I would do anything for you."

Lyra pressed her lips to his. Newt wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I am glad you found him again." Mary commented looking at the two of them.

"What is she talking about?" Newt asked looking to Lyra.

"Before I was sent into the maze. I already liked you. I told you the day I was sent in. You kissed me." Lyra answered.

Lyra saw Thomas exit the tent, she kissed Newt on the cheek and walked over to him. Jorge walked up to Thomas and hugged him.

"I am glad we could do something." Lyra said

"Go and see her." Thomas said holding the tent flap open.

Jorge walked into the tent. Lyra and Thomas went back to Newt, Frypan, and Minho. They sat in silence for a minute.

"I wish Alby could've seen all this." Newt finally said, he slipped his hand into Lyra's as she put her head on his shoulder.

"And Winston." Frypan added.

"And Chuck." Thomas added looking at something in his hands.

"And my parents. I know they wanted me to be happy." Lyra said tearing up.

"Chuck would have been proud of you Tommy," Newt added patting Thomas on the back.

Frypan yelled to Aris.

"I kind of like that kid." Frypan admitted.

"I still don't trust him though." Minho said.

"Minho you don't trust a lot of people." Lyra joked.

Lyra could feel Newt's hands getting cold. She blew on his hands warming them up. She smiled at him.

"Where is Teresa?" Thomas asked.

"She is up there." Newt replied pointed to a ridge.

Thomas left the group. Newt turned to Lyra and kissed her. Frypan let out a cheer. Minho clapped. Lyra kissed Newt again.

"You two are so cute together. I didn't know there was something between the two of you ." Minho said.

"I am surprised you didn't know." Lyra said looking at him.

"Why?" Minho asked.

That question also appeared to be on Frypan's and Newt's mind too.

"Ben knew. I told him." Lyra said.

The sky had grown darker and the air grew colder. Lyra cuddled next to Newt.

Lyra looked to the skyline, she stood up. There were lights growing closer to them. Her heart froze for a moment.

_Aunt Ava,_ she thought as she saw the lights, _Teresa ratted us out, she betrayed us. _

A helicopter flew overhead and fired a missile at the encampment. It exploded in a ball of fire. Lyra prepped her bow and arrows. WCKD soldiers stormed the camp. She started firing arrows at the soldiers. She made her way to Vince, Harriet, Frypan, Newt, and Minho. She was shooting arrows left and right. She moved to get a better shot when a soldier threw a WCKD bomb. The bomb exploded causing Vince, Harriet, Frypan, Newt, and Minho to collapse convulsing.

"Newt!" Lyra yelled making her way to Newt who was on the ground.

A WCKD soldier grabbed her and carried her to where the other Immunes were being rounded up. Lyra was kicking and screaming. They bound her hands and sat her sit on her knees.

They did the same for Newt, Frypan, and Minho. They sat them down next to her. The scanned the backs of their neck.

"Zero!" The soldier said reading the scanner results for Lyra's neck.

Janson walked up to Lyra, "Where is Thomas?"

"Far away from you." Lyra responded spitting at Janson's feet.

Janson kicked Lyra in the chest, she fell over gasping for air.

"Right here." Thomas answered from a hill.

Lyra got herself up and started to undo the bindings on her wrists.

"Why didn't you run?" Minho whispered.

"I am tired of running." Thomas answered.

A WCKD hovercraft landed. A blonde woman dressed all in white exited and walked over to Janson.

"Is this all of them?" She asked.

"Most of them." Janson responded, "It'll be enough."

"Start loading them." The woman ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." Janson responded.

Lyra looked to the woman in white, "Auntie!"

The woman looked to Lyra, "Lyra!"

Lyra got up as the woman hugged her, "I hoped I would see again, my dear. Your parents would be so proud of you."

"My parent taught me to never be afraid of the monsters. They taught me to trust my instincts. I am trusting my instincts now and standing up to the monster in front of me. You are a horrible, cruel person. I know my parents did not want me the maze. You put me in that maze. You are not my auntie Ava. You are a monster." Lyra shouted at her.

"I am sorry you feel that way, my love. I was doing what was best for humanity." Ava answered calmly.

Thomas stood up and stood next to Lyra. Teresa stepped toward Ava. Frypan, Minho and Newt stood up and stood next to Thomas. Newt stood next to Lyra.

"What is going on?" Newt asked.

"She is with them." Thomas answered.

"Since when?" Minho asked.

"Oh, Teresa's always had an evolved appreciation of the greater good. Once we restored her memories, it was only a matter of time." Janson answered.

"I'm sorry." Teresa said.

Lyra felt something growing inside of her. It was a hot red rage.

"No matter what you think of me. I am not a monster. I am a doctor." Ava insisted, "This is all just a means to an end."

"No matter the cost right? Were my parents part of the cost? How about my friends? Or me? Am I part of the cost?" Lyra said looking into Ava's eyes.

"I just need more time." Ava said.

"More blood you mean." Mary corrected.

"Hello, Mary." Ava said, "I am sorry we had to meet again in these circumstances."

"I am not sorry my conscious is clear." Mary said proudly.

A gunshot rang out. Mary's stomach started to bleed. Janson's gun was still smokey. Mary died in Vince's arms.

Thomas had a bomb in his hand. Teresa, Janson, and Ava tried to reason with him. Lyra stood next to him. Minho, Newt, and Frypan followed suit. Newt slipped his hand into Lyra's and squeezed tightly.

"We're with you, Thomas." Newt said.

"Until the end." Lyra added.

"Do it, Thomas. We are ready." Minho and Frypan said.

"We're not going back there." Lyra said patting Thomas on the back.

Lyra closed her eyes ready for the heat from the blast. Instead, a horn from a truck honked. Lyra opened her eyes and turned her head. The truck hit a helicopter and shattered it. Soldiers scrambled. The Right Arm regained some hope. Janson had Thomas pinned and was pointing a gun at him. Lyra let go of the string sending an arrow flying to Janson's shoulder. The Right Arm started shooting back at the WCKD soldiers. Minho picked up a gun and started shooting at the soldiers. Frypan, Thomas, Newt, and Lyra kept running.

"Minho, let's go!" Thomas yelled over his shoulder.

A soldier shot and hit Minho. He collapsed convulsing. WCKD soldiers grabbed him and carried him off to the hovercraft.

"Minho" Lyra yelled trying to run to him, but Newt stopped her.

Jorge led them further up the mountains to safety.

Morning came quickly after the events of the night. The camp was still smoldering. They collected any usable supplies.

"What do we do now?" Frypan asked

"Well, we pick up what's left of us." Vince answered, "We stick to the plan and get you kids to the safe haven. Then we start over, I guess."

Thomas stood up and grabbed a bag, "I'm not going with you."

"What?" Vince asked.

"I made a promise to Minho. I wouldn't leave him behind. I have to go after him." Thomas said.

"Hey, kid look around you. WCKD just kicked our butts." Vince argued.

"I'm in." Lyra said standing up and looking at Thomas, "I want to take down WCKD."

Frypan and Newt stood up.

"Thomas listen to me." Newt spoke, " I have known Minho for...Well as long as I can remember. So if there was any way that we could help him, trust me, I would be up there standing next to you. This, what you're talking about...is impossible."

"More like suicide." Jorge added.

"I have done the impossible and suicidal before. I can do it again." Lyra said.

"Maybe," Thomas said, "But I know what I'm supposed to do now."

"It's not just about Minho. It's about all of us. Us being safe." Lyra added.

"It is about everyone they have taken, everyone they will take." Thomas continued, "They'll never stop. So I'm going to stop them. I am going to kill Ava Paige."

"I have to admit. I'd like some revenge." Harriet added.

"That was a good speech kid. So what's your plan?" Vince asked.

The group turned to Thomas. Thomas gave a look back.

_This is it_, Lyra thought, _This is war. Ava will not like the girl the maze spit out. The girl who grew up with the friends she swore to protect. _

Lyra was ready to unleash her true potential on WCKD. She was ready to destroy it. But they had to come up with a plan and get more help.


End file.
